Chapter 4

The next morning, I nearly lost my balance when I got out of bed, and my head was spinning. Mabel swiftly caught me. "Mrs. Parker, you look terrible. Are you alright?" "I'm fine." I forced myself to stand. "Charlie is being discharged today. I need to make lunch for him." I had barely taken two steps before I nearly collapsed again. Mabel gasped in fear. "Mrs. Parker, please rest. I can do it. You can guide me from the side, and I'll follow your instructions exactly." Seeing how insistent she was, I nodded. William had gone to pick up Charlie from the hospital. I wasn't expecting Alexis to tag along as well. Even in the kitchen, I could hear the three of them laughing and playing. Charlie skipped into the house, holding both Alexis' and William's hands. Their laughter echoed through the vast villa. "Eleanor," Alexis greeted me. As she stood next to William and Charlie, her expression was completely natural. She looked more like the lady of the house than I did. I stood there with my hands at my sides, clenching so tightly that my nails almost sank into my palms. With a faint grin, I squatted down and called to Charlie, "Come here, Charlie." He merely glared at me and replied coldly, "No." He held onto Alexis' hand and smiled brightly. "Aunt Alexis, will you play games with me?" "Sure." I opened my mouth but hesitated. The kitchen needed my attention. While Mabel and I continued preparing lunch, bursts of cheerful laughter echoed from the living room. My heart sank deeper into an icy abyss as I listened to them. When I finished cutting the fruits, I brought the plate out. Alexis and Charlie were playing, and in their excitement, they accidentally bumped into me. The plate of fruits scattered across the floor, and I slipped. "Are you okay?" William's and Charlie's alarmed voices rang out at the same time. "I'm fi—" I had barely pushed myself up and was about to say I was fine when I saw both father and son anxiously huddled around Alexis. They weren't concerned about me at all. At that moment, a large part of my heart went completely cold. "I'm fine," Alexis replied. "Your forehead is red. How are you fine?" William frowned, then finally turned his head and noticed I had also fallen. Only then did he rush over to help me up. I didn't want him touching me, so I quietly pulled my hand away. "Why are you so careless?" He looked at me with concern. "Did you hurt yourself?" I saw the sincerity in his eyes. Somewhere deep down, I still refused to accept the truth that he had cheated on me. I had witnessed what it looked like when he loved someone. He did love me. However, would a man have an affair if he sincerely loved his wife? I had no answer to that question. "I'll blow on it for you so that it won't hurt anymore!" Charlie's soft, childish voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Aw, thank you, Charlie." Alexis giggled pleasantly. I felt something warm trickle down my neck. William's expression instantly changed. "You're bleeding." It was only then that I realized a fruit fork had cut my neck. "It's nothing. I'll take care of it myself." As I was tending to the wound, Charlie approached me hesitantly. I was applying ointment when he suddenly reached out to me. "For you." I looked down at his chubby little hand, offering me a band-aid. My heart melted into a puddle, and my eyes stung. Regardless, he was still my child. We were connected between flesh and blood. Even though he had been distant with me lately, deep down, he still cared. Perhaps the reason he rejected me and clung to Alexis was because I had always been too strict with him. Meanwhile, Alexis was willing to spoil him. He was still young. It was only natural that he would gravitate toward the one who indulged him.